Composting 101: So Easy, You Can't Mess It Up

Have you considered composting but wondered whether it was too hard? Fearful of rodents? Smell? Cost?

To help celebrate Earth Day, Patch has decided we to provide "Composting 101: All You Need to Know." We enlisted the help of a Summit resident who calls himself, "Mr. Compost," a founding member of Summit's Recycling Advisory Committee and a long-time home composter.

According to Mr. Compost, if you keep your composting bin well-maintained, it could last you a lifetime. Read on:

The Basics:

• Buy a composting bin. They range in price from $100 to $200 depending on size and style. Make sure to get one that sits on the ground, not one that is suspended.
• Add all organic waste, including vegetables, tea bags and even coffee grinds. "If it's organic kitchen waste it will disappear," Mr. Compost said. 
• Once a week, or every time you mow the lawn, aerate the compost with a pitch fork to help the oxidation along.
• If composting in the summer, the oxidation process takes three months. Anything added in September or later is "guaranteed" to be ready by spring, Mr. Compost says.
• Use your new compost to add a top layer to your garden or lawn or in potted plants you expect to keep outside. Because of the bugs living in the compost to do the oxidation, you shouldn't use it in the house. You may want to strain your compost to sift out any pieces of garbage they are not fully composted yet. Just toss them back in! As Mr. Compost explained, "This is a living product."

You Oughta Know:

• The oxidation process does produce heat, so don't be alarmed. Because of this, composting bins come in black or dark green to help the bin absorb sunlight.
• You may add some chipped leaves to your compost bin, but do not add grass clippings. Leave them on your lawn as a natural form of fertilizer.
• If you are concerned about rodents, you can purchase a rodent screen. However, Mr. Compost said that because compost is wet and contains many bugs, most rodents stay away on their own.
• A composting bin will pay for itself in three to five years, if not less.
• The benefits of using composting will increase exponentially each year you use it in your garden.

Mr. Compost concluded, "Getting people to buy a bin and compost their kitchen waste will help reduce our garbage costs and also yield a valuable product so that even if you use a lawn service there are benefits to composting."